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A Piece of Cake
May 2007: Eighth Slice
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A Word from Anne
The newspaper headline read something like this: "Whoever stole spring, we wish you would return it..." For us down here in Nashville this was a bizarre and uncomfortable spring with unseasonably cold Easter temperatures that zapped perennials, tomato plants, peonies, hostas, hackberries, and azaleas. And now the temperatures have soared into the 90s. Half of my yard looks like summer, the other with the remnants of fall. And it's only May, a time at our house that is full of field days, piano recitals, exams, graduations, and the beginning of summer.
Yikes! Can it be nearly summer? For the first week of summer break serving my kids breakfast at noon seems novel. After that, they are on their own to cook. If provided with the raw materials for smoothies (fruit, yogurt), panini (cheese, good bread, maybe ham), and pizza (crust, sauce, toppings, cheese) they can cook for themselves.
In this newsletter I am sharing a few recipe ideas that you or your kids might enjoy trying out. I am sharing, too, feedback from readers about Easy Bake Oven recipes, a gizmo that is fun for all ages. And I share some humorous thoughts on moms, what with Mother's Day this Sunday. Parents need to laugh with spring nearly gone and summer at our doorstep.
Happy Baking!
Anne
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A Word from Workman
Spring has finally arrived (and for some of you summer is getting a head start), and it's time to think of picnics and dinner parties. Luckily for you, cakemixdoctor.com is full of recipes from years past, just waiting to be rediscovered. Check the Recipe Corner for warm weather toteables, or look in the Newsletter Archive for tips on transporting cakes like these.
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Bits & Bytes
Brownie Bliss: My sister Susan shares the family passion for chocolate and brownies. Just when you think you've seen or tasted it all, here is another fun rendition of the doctored-up brownie. And it's been "out there" for a year or so, so my apologies to not crediting the source of this inspiration. It just might have come from Hershey's, the maker of the Symphony Bar.
- Symphony Brownies: Bake your favorite box of brownie mix by the package directions. Some people like to add another egg to make them more "cakey" in texture. Spread half of the batter in the 9-inch square pan, and top with unwrapped Symphony chocolate bars, either whole, side-by-side, or broken into bits. These candy bars come in various sizes - I found the 5-ounce to be the most common. Use one or two bars for this size pan. Spread the remaining batter on top of the chocolate bars so that it reaches the sides of the pan. Place the pan in the oven to bake as directed on the package. The brownies will have a rich, almost chocolate mousse-like center. For a larger 13-by 9-inch pan, use two packages of brownie mix and place three of the 5-ounce bars in the center.
- My Best Brownie Idea: I love the convenience of a brownie mix, but I adore the flavor and texture of the cakey brownies my mother used to make. So in trying to recreate them in a fast version, I poured a package (Ghirardelli) of brownie mix into a mixing bowl, added a stick of very soft, almost melted, butter, and 2 eggs. That's it. No liquid. After a minute of mixing on low, I spread this into a 9-inch square pan and baked at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or still soft in the center. These were the most unbelievably good brownies I have created. And we have made them at least once a week since then... with chopped pecans on top, doubling the recipe (2 packages mix, 2 sticks butter, and 4 eggs) for the 13-by 9-inch pan, and with added chocolate chips. Bake these for springtime parties and picnics, or let your kids make these this summer.
Chuckles about Moms: Mother's Day is coming up soon, the Sunday my family takes me out the lunch and I receive a much-treasured note or piece of art from my son's second-grade art class. I know my two daughters love me, but their art classes no longer produce these tender displays of affection. I ran across something about moms in those mass e-mails we are prone to receive. It's fitting and funny:
Answers given by elementary school children to the following questions:
Q. What ingredients are mothers made of?
A. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
Q. What kind of little girl was your mom?
A. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
A. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
A. They say she used to be nice.
Q. Who's the boss at your house?
A. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because Dad's such as goofball.
A. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
Q. What does your mom do in her spare time?
A. Mothers don't do spare time.
A. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.
Q. What would it take to make your mom perfect?
A. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
A. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.
Easy Bake Oven Ideas:
Several months ago reader Debbie Briggs asked if I knew how she could make her own baking mixes for the Easy Bake Oven.
"I was at the store the other day and just could not bring myself to pay $5 per mix for one of their mixes. I have four little ones and I'll admit that I'm a little thrifty. Any ideas?"
Thanks to so many of you for writing with creative tips:
Jennifer Poe is a second grade teacher who makes her own baking mixes with 3 tablespoons of any cake mix and 1 tablespoon water. This batter would work in the Easy Bake pans. But Jennifer's class creates their own oven by pouring the batter into 5-ounce Dixie cups. "We sit them in an electric skillet on 350 with the lid on for 15 minutes and they are great!"
Susan Fawcett was assembling an Easy Bake Oven cookbook for her young niece. One recipe also called for 3 tablespoons mix but with 1 tablespoon milk. Bake in a preheated Easy Bake for 15 minutes.
From Lori Bizjak and others, here are some online sites that offer more Easy Bake recipes:
www.budget101.com
www.thefunplace.com
http://www.recipezaar.com
And lastly, from Betsy DiCostanza, is this great Easy Bake Oven memory:
"I loved my oven and used it a lot. It was my all-time favorite Christmas present. God bless my mother. I know I must have driven her crazy, replacing the light bulbs and wanting more mixes! I still remember my mother wrote to the manufacturer because back then (35 years ago) they didn't sell the refill kits...I still have my oven and some of the pans. It is one thing that I cannot part with from my childhood."
Recreate childhood this spring and summer, pull out the Easy Bake Oven and try these reader ideas.
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Recipe Swap
You will adore these warm cinnamon puffs and will be amazed that they were made from frozen biscuits. They're perfect for brunch or snacks. And while they reheat well in an uncovered pan, they're best freshly baked. Thanks to Shirley Hercules of the Nashville Herb Society for this recipe:
Cinnamon Puffs
Makes 24 puffs
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 15 to 17 minutes
6 frozen biscuits
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Thaw the biscuits only long enough to cut them into four quarters, 3 to 4 minutes. You will have 24 quarters.
2. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove. Set it aside. Place the sugar in a small bowl and stir in the cinnamon. Set this aside. Mist a miniature muffin pan with vegetable oil spray. Dip each quarter into the melted butter, then dredge in the cinnamon-sugar. Place each quarter in a muffin tin. When all the quarters have been dipped and dredged and placed in the pan, place the pan in the oven.
3. Bake until the bottoms of the puffs have browned and they have risen and lightly browned on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Remove from the pan and serve at once.
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Doctor the Doctor
Sally Kerr of Toronto wrote to say how much she loves the Best Pound Cake recipe from The Dinner Doctor. "You are so right, everyone loved it."
Sally, who calls herself the coffee-cake queen of the family, now makes this cake filled with cinnamon, sugar and mini chips. You pour a third of the batter into a tube pan, layer on cinnamon and sugar and miniature chocolate chips, then another layer of batter, then more cinnamon and sugar and chocolate chips, then spread on the last of the batter. Bake until the top springs back and the cake tests done. Sally has also added butterscotch chips along with the chocolate chips.
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Do Tell
Anne Shebroe of Sarasota, FL, is looking for a Bundt cake recipe that contains a yellow cake mix, cinnamon, cooked sweet potatoes, crushed toasted walnuts, and golden raisins. It has a rum glaze. Does anyone have such a recipe? Yum! I have a sack of sweet potatoes and would be ready to test it the minute it arrives. So please send it to anne@cakemixdoctor.com, and I'll share the recipe in a future newsletter.
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Next Issue: July/August
Summer cakes, and I share a recipe from my new cookbook, What Can I Bring?  , to be published this fall.
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